Never Look Back
by penguino3782
Summary: After an awesome night with Gallagher, with his family out of town, everything comes crashing down. And now there's no looking back. Not for him. Not for Gallagher. Not even for both of their families. Major AU after 3.06.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless.**

**A/N: I know that I have a bunch of WIP's out there, but this idea came to me when I was rewatching season three in preparation for the upcoming season. I just couldn't help myself. With that said this story contains spoilers for season three and is major AU after 3.06. I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Never Look Back-Chapter 1**

As he felt the blood dripping down his face and felt his father's relentless beating fists, Mickey knew that he made the right call by jumping on his father's back to save Gallagher. Neither of them deserved this, but especially not Gallagher. Not when he had the chance and will to get away from this shithole. Mickey on the other hand was born Southside and will die in the Southside, when was the only question. And at the moment it looks like it may very well be right now. But, as long as his father is distracted by beating the shit out of him, then Gallagher would be safe. He'd have a fighting chance to get away.

He continues to take the hits as a sense of calm overcomes him when he hears the sound of the younger boy's retreating feet. Good, Gallagher's taking advantage of the brief window of opportunity. Then the hits stop. He no longer feels his father's weight dangerously close to him. Shit.

"Sit your ass down," His father orders.

But instead of hearing the noise of Gallagher's approaching feet, the ex-con hears the feet moving away from them. Gallagher must be trying to make a run from it. Maybe to go find Mandy or Lip or even Tony. Mickey's dealt with his dad for years, he knows it's all about waiting him out, waiting for the booze, drugs, and anger to work out of his father's system. He can hold on until reinforcements arrive or at least until he has the opportunity to regroup and think of what he's going to do next to get out of this clusterfuck.

_**BANG! BANG!**_

Mickey's eyes instantly open. He sees his father's arm is still raised, smoking gun in hand. The unmistakable smell of gun powder taking over that of the odd mix of sex, cigarette smoke, and slightly burnt pizza bagels. But, through all that…it's the sound of Gallagher's hitching breaths that propel Mickey into motion. Not daring enough to look at Gallagher, Mickey's cold stare remains on his father. But, his father isn't aware that he is not in his own son's crosshairs.

"That's what you get you fucking fairy," his father yells.

With his father's attention still on the injured redhead, Mickey takes the opportunity to push himself off the couch and charges at his father. His momentum causes them to crash to the floor, the gun sliding under the battered couch. He gives his father no time to recover, instantaneously his fists are slamming into his father's face, without mercy. Like a man on a mission, he doesn't lead up. Something stronger than the high he gets from running from a fight or from any drug pushes him to continue to beat his father, even after his father's arms fall lifelessly to his side. Even after his father's eyes roll in the back of his head. He doesn't even feel the pain in his no doubt broken knuckles.

But then something finally breaks through his tunnel vision. A broken voice. "Mick. Mick."

Mickey stops and looks down at the unrecognizable face of his father. The man who has made his mother and siblings' lives a living hell. The same man who shot Gallagher. Fuck the same man who shot Gallagher.

"Mick…Mick," Gallagher slurs.

Mickey goes to get up and lands one more punch for good measure and makes his way to the redhead's side. Gallagher's normally pale skin is about ten shades paler than it usually is. It sharply contrasts with the amount of bright red blood that is covering Gallagher's right side.

"Fuck, Gallagher!" Mickey swears as he kneels down besides the younger boy. He reaches out for the dingy blanket that is on the back of his couch and pushes it firmly to the other's chest. Ian tries to move away from the pressure, but the ex-con won't let him.

"Don't! leave it!" Mickey orders.

"Mick," Ian gasps as he opens his pain filled eyes. Mickey can't help but shudder when he sees blood trickling out of Gallagher's mouth. Shit. Bullet must have gotten a lung. Without warning, he maneuvers Gallagher so he is now against the wall.

"Is he-"Gallagher starts but stops when he starts to cough. More blood dropping down his colorless face.

"Fuck! Don't! Don't worry about that. Just keep breathing," Mickey says as he pushes down harder on Gallagher's chest, even as the younger boy moans loudly in pain. He sees Ian's hand moving desperately, clawing on the thread barren rug as he tries to calm his breathing. With his free hand, he grips Gallagher's flailing hand. "You're gonna be fine. Think of this as training for when you're in the army," Mickey tries to reassure the bleeding boy in front of him. His eyes briefly scans the living room. Where the fuck did he put his phone. And more importantly how the fuck can he leave Gallagher when he has a death grip on his hand. He's so busy trying to remember where the fuck his phone is, Gallagher's gasping breaths fucking with his concentration, that he doesn't even hear the door open.

"What the fuck?!"

Mickey looks up when he hears the exclamation and the all too familiar gasp. He looks up to see Mandy and Lip standing in the entryway. Fuck.

**I know it's short, but I did pack in a lot in this short little chapter. I hope you guys liked it! I already have a pretty good outline for chapter two so an update should come fairly quickly. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Shameless.**

**AN: Thank you guys for reading, reviewing, favoriting and alerting this story. You guys rock! What's in italics takes place during a flashback. **

**Never Look Back-Chapter 2**

Mickey walks briskly to the hospital, with Mandy hot on his heels. To her credit she has said nothing on their way to the hospital and he's grateful for that. He has too much on his mind. The last thing he needs is to deal with Mandy asking him about what the fuck just happened while he's still wrapping his head around it. But as luck would have it, just before they reach their destination Mandy stops short of the emergency room, "Wait, Mick."

Mickey looks up from biting his fingernail, absentmindedly peeling away the dried blood. "What?"

His sister's eyes go huge. "What? Is that all you have to fucking say after what just happened?" Mandy hisses.

Fuck. Mickey never should have come to the hospital. He should have taken off until things settled down for a bit. But, he couldn't. It was like some force inside him took over, and the need to run was outweighed by his need to check on Gallagher. Like when he followed Gallagher and that asshole to that bar awhile back. It's that same pull that didn't make him lash out at his sister when she pulled on his arm towards the EL after the ambulance left their house. The ride to the hospital was a silent one. Mandy was either too shocked or too clueless to say anything. And there's no way in hell Mickey wasn't saying anything. Why did his sister have to ruin that now?

"What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On?" Mandy asks again, speaking slower this time.

Why couldn't Mandy just things alone? She probably wanted to get her interrogation in before the rest of the Gallagher clan got there. A hard punch in his shoulder stops Mickey's silent ponderings.

"Say something asshole. Like what did me and Lip just walk in on? Why is your face messed up? Why dad's in a god damned body bag?! Why was my best friend shot in our living room?" Mandy bites out angrily.

Mickey can't help but flinch at the last part. "You know what happened," Mickey says as he goes to walk into the hospital, but he stops when Mandy calls from behind him.

"No, I know the cover story that Lip came up with to tell the cops."

Mickey closes his eyes as he recalls what happened right after Lip and his sister walked into his house.

"_Holy shit, Mickey! What the fuck happened?!" Lip asks as he sprints to his brother's side. Taking in his brother's almost grey like complexion, he curses "Ahhhh. Fuck, Ian!" _

_Mickey remains silent, but refuses to let up his hold on the blanket that is quickly turning a rusty red color, even as Lip is trying to replace the soaked makeshift bandage with a new one._

"_Mickey! It's soaked through. I need to change it," Lip says as he holds a piece of his own shirt that he must have ripped off._

_He reluctantly loosens his hold so that Lip can switch out the saturated blanket with the new piece of material. He doesn't even flinch when the other boy lets out a stream of curses when he sees the extent of the damage done to his younger brother. _

"_Mickey! Mickey! What the fuck happened?!" Lip asks frantically. But, his questions fall on deaf ears. The only sound that can be heard is Gallagher's gasping breaths. _

_Not satisfied with Mickey's lack of information, Lip turns to the still silent Mandy. "Mandy! Mandy!"_

_But, Mandy's isn't listening. Her attention is elsewhere. She's not even looking at Gallagher. Her gaze is still fixed on the bloodied and still body of her father._

"_Snap out of it, Mandy! I need your help here." Lip calls out as he retains his firm grip on his brother's wound. Through his daze, Mickey can sense from the glares that he's receiving from the older Gallagher that he wants to say something, something biting. But, then recognition hits when Lip looks down and sees that Mickey is busy holding the redhead's hand in a death grip._

"_Mandy! Call 911!" Lip orders, but Mandy still remains fixated on her father's body. "Mandy, he's gonna bleed out if we don't get him help." Lip's voice breaks off at the end of his heartfelt plea._

_Later on Mickey would say that Lip was acting like a little bitch, but at the moment he doesn't care how broken Lip sounds for his words have the desired effect and breaks Mandy out of whatever fog she's been in. She turns her head away from her father and takes her phone out, quickly going to the boys. With Mandy on the phone, getting Gallagher the help he needs, Lip turns to Mickey._

"_Where are his clothes, Mickey?" Lip asks urgently._

_Mickey doesn't understand why Lip is asking such a stupid fucking thing at the moment. He looks at the young genius dumbfounded._

"_Mickey, where are his clothes. We need his clothes." Lip says._

"_Th-th," Ian starts but his attempts are halted when he starts to cough again, more blood trickling down his chin._

"_Shhhh, easy. Ian." Lip tries to calm his younger brother down. "Don't worry about it, we gotcha."_

_Lip turns back to the ex-con. "We don't want the cops to show up here and see him like this. We need to get his clothes on."_

"_Yeah and you need to get dressed too. Don't know how we're gonna explain why both of you are in your underwear," Mandy adds. "Why are you in your underwear?" Mandy asks her brother._

_Mickey bites his lip. This is not the time he wants to do this. Not with Gallagher bleeding in his living room, just feet away from his father who he beat into unconsciousness, if not worse._

_Gallagher's gut wrenching moan and preceding hitching breath saves the day when Lip cuts in. "Not now, Mandy. We need to find Ian's clothes and get him dressed before the cops get here."_

_Mickey goes to get up and get their clothes, but is stopped when Ian's grip tightens on his hand and Ian slurs, "d-don't." _

_Seeing the exchange between her brother and best friend, Mandy says quietly, "Stay, I'll get em,'" as she walks over to the chair to retrieve the discarded clothes._

Mandy clearing her throat brings his attention back to the present.

"Just talk to me, Mick. What is going on with you and Ian?" Mandy asks as she moves closer to her brother. "And I'm not talking about the story we told the cops. About how Dad was high as shit and pissed off about something and you pissed him off, so he started to beat the shit out of you. Then Ian came looking for me and walked in on it, so dad shot him. And you beat dad in self defense."

But still, Mickey remains quiet.

"Please, Mickey. Just tell me what's going on. I know what my mind is telling me, but you're my brother and I want to hear it from you," Mandy pleas

Still not trusting himself with what his sister wants to hear, Mickey tries another approach. "What is your mind telling you?"

Mandy sighs before she starts to speak. "That it wasn't just a fucking coincidence that you had the house to yourself and that Ian snuck out of the group home last night. And I can't ignore the fact that Lip and I walked in on both of you guys in your underwear." Mandy stops for a second, waiting for Mickey to respond. But, he doesn't. She swipes her hand over her wet cheek before she goes on. "And then I think about how he told me he was sleeping with some guy, but couldn't tell me who it was. But, he tells me everything. Everything. Then I think about how he asked me how you know if a guy likes you because he was pretty sure the guy he was hanging with hated him." She stops again before she finishes. "And that's right after you got of juvie for the last time."

Fuck his sister is a lot smarter than he ever gave her credit for. "So?"

He can see her biting her lip, "Are you and Ian together? Are you gay?"

Still, after everything Mickey can't bring himself to say the words aloud. The same words that Gallagher wants him to say so badly. So, he settles with nodding his head. His head is down, staring at the ground, afraid to look into his sister's eyes, but then a sharp punch in his chest causes him to bring his head up. "What the fuck, bitch?"

"Why didn't you just tell me? I wouldn't have said anything. I've known about Ian forever. That's why I called you off of him a couple of years back."

Mickey nods his head. He always wondered why Mandy called him and his brothers off of Ian so quickly after she told them he forced himself on her. "It's not exactly something I wanted to broadcast to the whole fucking world."

She nods her head in understanding. "Well, your secret is safe with me. I won't say anything," She gives him a small smile. "As far as I'm concerned what we told the cops happened back at the house, happened."

He nods their head. "Thanks."

She playfully nudges his arm, "Come on. You're my brother and he's my best friend. I'd so anything for you guys."

And because Mickey knows his sister so well, he knows she's telling the truth. He's touched and at the moment doesn't know why he has never told her about him before. But, before he can even contemplate it a loud, fearful voice calls out from across the street. The siblings turn to see Fiona rushing towards them. "Mandy! Mandy!"

"Fiona," Mandy replies as Fiona approaches them. Fiona doesn't seem too surprise to see Mandy. But you can see she is clearly shocked when she sees that's it's Mickey standing next to her. "Mickey?"

He just nods her head and returns his gaze to the ground.

"Where the hell are my brothers?" Fiona asks.

He doesn't really know Fiona. But, Mickey can't bear to be the one to give her the answers she wants. How the hell can he tell her that his father shot her kid brother because he walked in on the two of them?

"Lip rode with Ian. He's in with him now," Mandy answers.

Mickey really needs to cut back on referring to his sister as a bitch. She just saved his ass again.

Fiona nods her head, "Thanks." She starts walking into the hospital and looks back at the two siblings. "Well, you coming?"

Mandy instantly starts following, but stops when she notices that Mickey has not moved. "Come on, Mick. Let's go."

Mickey hesitates for a second. Hospitals are not his thing. But then he thinks about Gallagher choking on his own blood, moaning in pain, as he laid in the Milkovich living room with a death grip on Mickey's hand. Fuck it, his decision was already made. He doesn't say a word as he follows the two girls into the hospital.

**I really tried to keep the characters in character as much as I can. I hope I did them justice. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless.**

**Never Look Back-Chapter 3**

**A/N: I'm not a medical expert, but I did my best to make this sound as medically accurate as possible. **

Mickey silently followed his sister and Fiona into the hospital and towards the ER waiting room. Lip's manic pacing made it easy to locate him in the crowded waiting room. Mandy and Mickey hang back as Fiona embraces her brother, not caring in the slightest about the dried blood that is covering his ragged, torn shirt.

"Jesus, Lip! What the fuck happened?" Fiona asks as she pulls away from her sibling.

Lip doesn't say anything and just looks over her shoulder at the two Milkovich siblings that are standing behind her.

"It was-" Lip starts to explain, but stops when a voice calls out for anyone there for an Ian Gallagher.

They all move towards the nurse. "How's my brother?" Fiona rushes.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Mandy follows up quickly.

'Kerry' as her nametag says doesn't seem fazed in the slightest with the bombardment of questions and looks of concern. But, then again the wrinkles around her eyes and her mouth tell that she's not new to this.

"We've been trying to get him stabilized before we brought him up to surgery," Kerry begins.

"What the hell does that mean?" Lip cuts in before the nurse can continue.

The nurse sighs. Mickey gives Gallagher a glare. Why can't he just shut the fuck up and let the nurse tell them what the fuck is going on.

Satisfied that she's not going to be interrupted again, Kerry continues. "When Ian was brought in, he was already in hypovolemic shock."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Mandy bites.

Fiona rolls her eyes at Mandy's rudeness. "Sorry. We don't mean to be rude, but what does that mean."

"It means he lost too much blood, so his body isn't working like it should," Lip explains quietly.

Kerry quirks an eyebrow at Lip. She's obviously not used to an eighteen year having the knowledge to explain the inerrancies of medical terminology.

"Essentially, yes. We were trying to get his blood volume up before we went to the OR. But, he went into respiratory distress so we had to redlined him to the OR," Kerry finishes.

"But, he's gonna be okay?" Fiona asks, voice hitching even as Lip puts his arm around his sister. "Right?"

"All I can say is that Ian is in good hands. The doctors are doing the best they can. Your brother was in serious condition when he came in with his body in shock and combined that with the wounds he suffered. The doctors have their work cut out for them. He was shot once in the shoulder. That bullet came dangerously close to the brachial artery. He was also hit in the chest. That bullet hit a rib and splintered. They're going to be in there awhile chasing down a lot of pieces and repair any damage," Kerry explains.

"Shit," Lip curses.

"You can go up to the OR waiting room on the fourth floor. There are more chairs up there. It's going to be awhile." Kerry advises as she motions to the crowded waiting room. "When there is any news someone will let you guys know."

They all nod their heads as she leaves them alone. Well, except for Mickey, who is clenching his fists at his side. With the nurse out of earshot, Fiona shakes her brother's arm off. "What the hell happened? One minute, I'm cleaning the house to get ready for the state and then next thing you're calling me saying that Ian was shot."

Lip looks around the busy waiting area. "Shhh, Fiona. Calm down," Lip tries.

Fiona throws her arms up in exasperation, "Don't tell me to calm down! We don't know if Ian's gonna be okay! CPS will be up our ass more than ever because they'll want to know why a kid who was supposed to be a group home was shot in Terry Milkovich's living room at seven o'clock in the morning!"

"If people at the group home were doing their job then Ian wouldn't have been at my house…" Mandy attempts to reason, but is stopped by and/or Mickey's sharp elbow to her ribs or the look of death from Fiona.

Fiona turns back to Lip and asks so quietly that Mickey can barely hear her. "What the hell am I supposed to tell the kids?"

Fuck. He feels like he and Mandy are intruding on some clandestine family meeting. The last thing he wants to do is listen to the inner workings of the Gallagher family, but he can't pull himself away.

"We don't tell them anything about Ian right now. We wait until we know more from the doctors. You said the guys who have Carl and Liam are okay with you seeing them, so that won't be a problem. How about where Debbie is?" Lip says.

Fiona's biting her lip, "She wasn't exactly welcoming when I stopped by this morning."

Without even realizing it, Mickey says "The bitch won't be a problem. You'll be able to see your sister."

But as quickly as he says it he quickly snaps his mouth shut, slipping his eyes to the marked up linoleum floor. He can feel his sister smirking at him like he's the punch line of some joke and he needs to get away from the incredulous looks that Fiona is no doubt sending his way.

"I'm gonna grab something to drink, does anyone want anything?" Mandy asks.

Mickey snaps his head up, why the hell is his sister worrying about getting a drink. But, when he sees the look on his sister's face. The one where she shifts her eyes to some invisible spot away from where they are, head tilted slightly to the right. He instantly gets where she's going with this. He's seen this look plenty of times. When their dad will show up after being gone more than a week, high out of his mind and looking for either a good fight or a fuck, Mandy would have the same look on her face and say something along the lines of _"I'm gonna run to the store and get us some food, wanna come Mickey?"_ She's giving them…him an out from this fucked up conversation that from an outsider's point of view he has no business being part of, but in all actuality he has every right to be.

"I'm good. Thanks, Mandy." Fiona replies.

"I can go for a beer." Lip says with a smirk.

Fiona smacks him lightly in the shoulder. "Really, Lip?! It's nine o'clock in the morning. Are you trying to make it so that I can't get you guys back?"

Lip gives his sister a sheepish look, "Sorry, Fi." He turns to look at Mandy, "Get me a coffee."

Mandy nods her head and turns to her brother, "You coming, Mick?"

Mickey's nodding his head when something catches his eyes. Tony Markovich and another cop just walked into the hospital. Fuck. They already told the cops their cover story. What the hell do they want?

"Fiona?"

Fiona nods her head, "Hi, Tony."

"Any news on Ian?" Tony asks.

Fiona shakes her head, "He's in surgery. Docs said he's gonna be in there for awhile."

Ever the asshole, Lip butts in. "Tony, I doubt that you're only here to ask how our brother is. What do you want?"

"Look, I know you guys have a lot on your plate with the CPS investigation and now Ian….but we need to know about what happened this morning." Tony says.

"We already told you what happened back at the house," Mandy answers. "Ian came looking for me and walked in on dad beating the crap out of Mickey. He shot Ian. Mickey beat the crap out of dear old dad."

Fiona's eyes snap to Mickey's face and he can feel her taking in the bruises. He can feel her look of sympathy and that's worse than the usual look of disgust that she's usually sending his way.

"Yeah, we know that." Tony's partner replies. "But, we have some more questions. We just got back from talking to the head at the Gunderson home. He said that Ian wasn't there for breakfast. Either he snuck out before morning check in or snuck out at some point last."

Fiona's head quickly moves towards Lip, but he doesn't say anything.

"You wouldn't know where he was, would you Lip?" Tony asks.

Avoiding his sister's questioning look, he replies "He's sixteen years old, I don't keep tabs on him 24/7. And who cares where he was last night. We know without a doubt that he was at the Milkovich's and that Terry shot him when he walked in on an out of control Terry beating the shit out of Mickey."

Mickey wishes that he could say something, but he's afraid that he's gonna say the wrong thing and fuck up things more than they already are. So, he stays quiet and nods his head at the right time, as needed.

"That's what happened, Mickey?" Tony asks.

The ex-con nods his head. "Ready told you that's what happened."

The cops nod their heads.

"Instead of harassing us, you should probably be thanking my brother. He's done all of us in the neighborhood a favor," Mandy adds on.

The police officers remain quiet. Not able to dispute the fact that a dead Terry Milkovich, no matter how it happened, was indeed a good thing.

"Okay, then. We're gonna get going. Hope Ian is okay." Tony says. He knows that they're not going to get anything else out of Fiona, Lip, Mandy, and Mickey. So, he and his partner quickly make their exits out of the waiting room.

With the cops gone, Fiona turns to Lip. "I'm gonna head over to CPS. See what I can do. Maybe get some emergency visitation with the kids."

Lip nods his head and gives her a hug, "Good luck. I'll stay here and will call if I hear anything from the doctors."

Fiona moves away, "Let me know." She leaves, giving Mickey one last quizzical look. She must know Mickey thinks. He recalls what Gallagher said about his sister knowing that he was gay before he told her. Did she put the puzzle pieces together about him and Ian?

"Well, I'm gonna go down to the cafeteria. Get us some food and drinks. Don't kill each other," Mandy says as she quickly leaves the waiting room.

The two boys are standing there, both looking at the ground. What the fuck does Mickey say? Lip saved his ass with the cover story they gave back at the house. But, he's still a little prick. But, they can't just stand there in the middle of the crowded ER waiting room. "Do you... um want to go upstairs so we can actually sit down and not just fucking stand?"

Lip nods his head and they start to walk out of the waiting room.

"I'm surprised," Lip says as they continue walking.

"About what?" Mickey asks. Is he surprised that Mickey stuck around. What is he talking about?

'"What you said about Debbie's foster mom. How she wouldn't be a problem."

Mickey nods his head as they get into the elevator. "Well, I'd be pissed if I couldn't talk to Mandy if I needed to." Lip nods his head.

It stays quiet for a minute and then Lip says quietly, "I know."

"You know what fuck head?" Mickey asks, trying to play innocent. Like he didn't walk in on him and his brother in their underwear.

"About you and Ian. Why else do you think I didn't completely lose my shit when I saw the two of you in your underwear. I knew he was going over to your house last night."

Mickey bites his lips, reminds himself that not every family is like his. That's it okay to let people in. "Does Fiona know?"

"She knows that Ian is gay. Don't know if she knows that you are. But she won't say anything. She knows what can happen."

"You sure?" Mickey asks as they exit the elevator.

"If she didn't say anything after everything with Jimmy's dad, she ain't gonna say shit, You're safe."

Mickey breathes a sigh a relief

"Can't believe that he fucked that senior citizen."

"He definitely has daddy issues."

Mickey gives Lip a hard glare as they find a seat in the OR waiting room.

"I think I should shut up," Lip replies.

Mickey sits down in an uncomfortable chair next to Lip, "Yeah, you better."

**I hope you guys liked this. I know no Ian in this chapter. But, we should see him in the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless.**

**A/N: So, I had to come back to my favorite fandom, Shameless. I've written numerous Suits stories and have recently ventured into Teen Wolf, but you guys are the most appreciative and responsive fans. I always get plenty of alerts, favorites, and reviews from you guys. So, here is the next chapter. Hope you guys like it!**

**A/N2: I'm not a medical expert, but I tried my best with the medical related stuff.**

**Never Look Back-Chapter 4**

Mickey is repeatedly hitting the back of his head against the wall. He, Gallagher, and his sister have been sitting in the waiting room for what he feels like forever.

"Stop that," Mandy says.

Mickey ignores her and continues making a steady beat with his head, against the wall. "How long has it been?" Mandy asks aloud.

Lip sighs as he mutters into his hands, "He's been in surgery for almost six hours."

"What the hell is taking them so long?!' Mandy says exasperated.

"You heard what the doctor said. They're gonna be in there awhile fixing the damage."

Mickey remains quiet, maintaining the steady beating of his head against the wall. He's content on ignoring the conversation that his sister and Lip are having. He's busy listening to the steady rhythm he's making. _Thump…thump…thump…_It sounds like the beating of Gallagher's heart. He closes his eyes as he thinks about last night. How after he and Gallagher got shit faced and smoked a shit ton of weed, Gallagher passed out before he did and in the unusual silence of his house, all he could hear was firecrotch's soft snores and the steady beating of his heart. It was probably the best night sleep he has gotten in well….ever. To think that was just a couple of hours ago. It feels like a fucking lifetime ago.

A punch to his shoulder jerks Mickey out of his trance, his eyes shoot open to see who it was that disturbed his peace. He sees Mandy's retreating hand. "What the hell bitch?! Was it bothering you that much?"

"As a matter of fact-" Mandy starts to say but is cut off when she sees Lip getting up from his chair. The siblings turn to see what has Lip on the move. They see that Lip is looking at a doctor who has just made his way into the waiting room.

"Dr. Henry?" Lip asks hopefully. Kerry told them that a Dr. Henry was in charge of Ian's care when she checked in on them a little while ago. And the nametag on the doctor who is standing in front of them says that is exactly who he is.

"You're here for Ian Gallagher?" The physician asks.

Both Mandy and Mickey get up to stand next to Lip. "Yeah, we are. How's my brother?"

The doctor rubs the bridge of his nose. "He's stable now. But, it was critical for awhile. The bullet to his shoulder nicked the brachial artery. That's where he lost a lot of his blood volume. The bullet also hit some bone and lots of muscle. We were able to pull out all of the bone fragments from his shoulder. But, it's too soon to know what type of nerve damage was done. Dr. Cheema, a specialist, will be assessing your brother's condition over the next couple of days."

Gallagher was shot in his right shoulder. Nerve damage? If his arm is fucked then he will surely not be able to join the military. "Shit." Mickey thinks to himself. But, based on stares he's getting from his sister and Lip, he guesses that he must have said it aloud.

"Then there's the wound to his chest. That bullet hit a rib and splintered. We were able to remove the bullet fragments as well as the splintered bone fragments, but unfortunately one piece punctured his lung and it collapsed," Dr. Henry says. "The good news is that with a chest rube, his chest is reflating successfully."

"But, he's going to be okay? Right?" Lip asks.

"He's still suffering from shock but he is doing much better. It's going to take time for his body to heal and he will be sore for awhile. We'll have to wait and see what's going on with his shoulder. But other than that, as long as there are no complications Ian should be fine," Dr. Henry says with a tentative smile.

"Oh thank fuck!" Mandy curses as she kisses Lip sloppily on the cheek.

"We're getting him settled in the ICU as a precaution. A nurse will come and let you guys know when you can see him," Dr. Henry says.

"Thanks, doc." Lip says as the doctor nods his head and leaves the waiting room. He turns to the Milkoviches. "I'm gonna call Fiona and let her know what's going on. That okay?'

"Yeah, go. We'll stay here," Mandy replies as she kisses Lip again before the genius leaves the waiting room to make his call.

Mandy and Mickey sit back down to wait for either Lip or the promised nurse. "Don't you fucking start banging your head again. That's annoying as fuck."

Mickey wants to bite something back, but all he feels is relief at the moment. Relief that Gallagher is going to be okay. And that outweighs his feeling of annoyance with his sister.

"Anyone here for Ian Gallagher?"

They look up to see a nurse standing in the entrance of the waiting room. Both of them quickly stand up. Mandy says "We're his friends."

She gives them a small smile. "I'm Becky. Ian is all settled if you guys want to follow me, I'll take to him."

Mickey looks at his sister uncertainly. Should they wait for Lip? He is Gallagher's brother.

Mandy gives him a small smile. "Why don't you go see him first? I'll wait here for Lip."

Mickey appreciates what his sister is doing. It's going to be tough enough seeing firecrotch lay up in bed. He definitely doesn't want an audience there to witness it. "You sure?"

She nudges him with her shoulder, "Go, Mick. Go see your Gallagher," Mandy says quietly.

Mickey nods his head and follows Becky silently to the ICU. As they get close to a cubicle, the strong smell of disinfectant and the sounds of countless monitors begin to overwhelm him. His anxiety must show in his face because Becky turns to him and says with a reassuring smile "Here he is. Don't be alarmed with the amount of machines that are monitoring him. Don't get nervous if he doesn't wake up. We have him on some pretty strong painkillers. But, don't worry he will. He's a fighter that's for sure."

Mickey nods his head in agreement and walks into Gallagher's ICU cubicle. Gallagher's still form and the sounds of the heart monitor and oxygen being pushed into his nose greets him. "Ah shit, firecrotch."

But, Gallagher remains silent. Mickey moves closer to the bed. As he gets closer he sees that Ian's right arm is bandaged and in a sling. Gallagher's breathing shallowly with the aid of an oxygen mask that is strapped to his face. When he reaches Gallagher's side he takes in the bruises that are littering Gallagher's face thanks to his father's fists. He gently taps Ian's wrist, careful to avoid the IV line that is there. "You better be okay, firecrotch. I didn't kill my father just to have you die on me now."

He takes a seat in the uncomfortable chair that is next to Gallagher's bed. He sits there listening to the monitors and watching Gallagher breathe for awhile. He's so engrossed in what he's doing that at first he doesn't hear someone clearing their throat in the doorway. He doesn't even hear the second attempt, it's his sister's snicker and "Hope I'm not interrupting some love connection," that gets his attention.

He turns to see Mandy standing in the doorway, "Fuck off. I thought you were waiting for Lip."

She cautiously moves further into the ICU cubicle. "I did. Lip had to leave for a bit."

Mickey snickers. His brother is laying in the damn ICU and fucking Gallagher leaves. And people say that the Milkoviches have fucked up values.

"Don't start, Mickey. Fiona got emergency visitation rights. Fiona's telling Debs and Lip is going to see Carl and Liam."

That stops Mickey from making anymore rude comments.

"Jesus, Mick," Mandy says sadly as she looks at Ian's still, pale form. "Look at him. He looks like he's dead!"

"Don't fucking say that!" Mickey bites back "He's going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine." Maybe if he says enough, he'll start to believe it.

"Fine? How is everything gonna be fine, Mick?! Dad's dead because you killed him."

Mickey stands up so fast that his chair nearly falls back. "I did what I had to do! What was I supposed to do when dad caught us? Huh? Let him continue to beat the shit out of Gallagher like he was doing until I jumped on his back? Let him put another bullet in Gallagher because two wasn't enough since Gallagher was still breathing?!"

Mickey looks away from his sister's tear stained cheeks and stares at Gallagher's peaceful face. He feels a small cold hand on his hand. "Jesus, Mickey. I'm sorry….I didn't realize…"

Mickey's voice hitches, "You weren't there, you didn't see dad. He would have killed Gallagher if I didn't do what I did."

Mandy nods her head, "You're right, he probably would have."

"So then just don't give me shit about it, okay? As far as I'm concerned I did us all a favor."

Mandy nods her head again, but before she can reply another female voice is heard from the ICU cubicle's door way. "Mickey… can I talk to you?"

Mickey's head snaps up away from Ian and into the face of Fiona Gallagher. Fuck!

**Wow, I literally got this chapter done in less than two hours and I feel pretty good about it. I hope you guys agree!**

**Chapter 5 Preview: **Fiona and Mickey talk and come to an understanding.


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